Week 69- Adiós Guatemala!

Buenas Tardes Mis Queridos Amigos, 

What an insane week it has been! Seriously I dont think there has ever been a week that has gone by faster than this one!
Tuesday I had my Exit Interview with President Smith which was so special and sacred to me. But we basically were in Xela all day long, which meant that we got to eat at Subway! ( It was so nice to eat a sandwich!)

Thursday We saw a miracle!! A family that we have been teaching had been having a really hard time with their house, and they were at the point where they only had a few more days to live there and then they were going to be put out on the streets. For quite some time we have been praying with them to find a place to live and this week a guy bought their house for them and is giving them 1 more year to look for a new place!!! It was such a miracle and we cried tears of happiness with the mom. And that was one of the reasons why they didnt want to get baptized because they didn't know where they would be living..... but now they have a baptismal date for the 2 of January! :)
Friday we had a Conference with Elder Ochoa of the Seventy. It was so powerful and we say some crazy miracles! That guy is SO inspired! I would tell you all about it but that would take way to long!
Yesterday I think that Heavenly Father wanted to leave me with a lasting impression of Momos so there wasn't water or lights all day long, and i have a million flea bites..... yep, that about sums up the mission problems for ya!
The truth is that I have so many things to write, but there isnt enough time. I guess I´ll just get to the most important part;
I feel so eternally grateful to be a member of this church and to have made the decision to serve a mission. I have been able to see the Lord´s hand in work in the lives of so many people, including my own. I have come to know the Christ really does live, that He personally knows every single one of us, and that the Atonement takes care of everything. One of the biggest lessons that I have learned is that Charity Never Faileth. When things arent going right, when we feel discouraged, when we arent feeling the Spirit like we should, we need to pray for charity and as we do so we will  we will feel more of Heavenly Fathers love for us and a desire that others have that same feeling. We will embark in the service of our fellow men }, which puts us at the service of our God. A simple act of charity and a prayer will cure everything. I am grateful for my Savior

 and the love that he has for me and for everyone of his brothers and sisters. I´m grateful for the restoration of the gospel of Christ and for the plan of Salvation, and I am grateful for the Book of Mormon, which testifies of the truthfulness of these things.
Thank you for all of your love and support fover these past 18 months. I´ll see you soon.
Que Dios les bendiga,
Signing out for the last time,
Hermana Gibson
1. Familia Barrera (The family with the house problem)
2. Bishop Toño Rosales and his family

Week 68- Feliz Día de Acción de Gracias!

Hola!

Well this week turned out a ton better than the last one!
Tuesday we were struck blind by the tender mercies of Heavenly Father. We have been doing a lot of door knocking and referral asking the last few weeks in hopes of finding new investigators. Well we went contacting in a part of our area where we dont often go. As we did so, a family had happily received us into their house. And it turns out they are all blind. We had a really great lesson and the family prayed to know the truthfulness of our message and were excited to learn more. We returned Friday and they had a LOT of doubts, but the good thing is that they keep asking Heavenly Father to know if we are telling the truth.
Also Tuesday night we visited a sister who is 82 and also blind and has a granddaughter who is listening to us. her name is Jenny and has a baptismal date for the 26 of December. She had asked me when I was going home and when she realized that i wouldn't be there for her baptism she was so sad- as well as I. I felt so guilty and selfish for leaving her to go home, and that i wasn't going to be with her for her big day, it made me sad. But also note that we only visited blind people Tuesday.
Wednesday we did divisions with the sisters that are in Chichicastenango. And that was pretty fun. It was a lot more traveling time than work time. But it was really fun!
Thursday we finished divisions with the sisters and ate lunch and headed back to the area. Then we got back to momos at 7 and had the Noche de Hermanamiento and we celebrated Thanksgiving. There wasn't any turkey, but every family brought their favorite dish and we all shared. It was pretty cool!
Sunday was my Birthday! Thank you for all of the bday wishes! My comp was the best because she planned a whole day for me. In the morning we went to church and then after we ate lunch with the Lang family. Then we had a Christmas devotional (i forgot how to spell that one...) and it turned out really great! There was a trumpet, a violin, and videos and a ton of stuff! Also I was asked to sing a duet. It was a really fun experience! And the members said that I sing really well so ive decided that since my chances of being Hannah Montana didnt work out in the states, that maybe ill just stay here in Guatemala :) #imnevergoinghome
Then another member said he had a reference for us, but he actually had bought a cake. And then we went to another family´s house to eat and celebrate another sister´s birthday.
This week was great and I was able to think about many of the things that I am most grateful for, one of which the the Atonement of Jesus Christ. I am eternally grateful for the chance that I have to be forgiven, to become better every day, to learn and grow, and that I will be able to live with Heavenly Father again.

I love you all and hope you all had a fantastic week!
Con amor,
Hermana Gibson
1. with Familia Lool
2. Thanksgiving
3. They wanted a pic and were trying to figure out how to hug each other haha
4. It was also Elizabeth´s birthday

Week 67- Charity

Well this week also went by ridiculously fast! To be honest i dont really remember what happened this week, so sorry for the short email! 

Thursday we had a Noche de Hermanamiento (Fellowship Night or something like that) And it was pretty cool. The members brought their references so that was awesome. One of the members talked about the importance of the temple and the investigators were interested. Then we all played basketball as a ward. 

Friday we did divisions and had to go to Chichicastenango, which was a 2 1/2 hour bus ride to get there. It was pretty fun and chichi is so pretty! And we will be going back in 2 weeks to do divisions again. 

Sunday we had a country wide conference and we got to listen to Elder Bednar. It was pretty cool. Him and the other 70s that talked spoke a lot about the importance of keeping the Sabbath Day holy. I loved what Elder Bednar asked us- if we were obeying God´s commandments to become disciples of Christ or are we obeying just becasue we have to? That gives us all something to think about. 

This week I have been studying a lot about Charity and have been ponderizing Moroni 7:48 that says, 

" 48 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, pray unto the Father with all the energy of heart, that ye may be filled with this love, which he hath bestowed upon all who are truefollowers of his Son, Jesus Christ; that ye may become the sons of God; that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is; that we may have this hope; that we may be purified even as he is pure. Amen."

I absolutely love this verse. One thing that I have been trying to work on this year is having more charity towards all men. As we preay fervently for this gift, we become true disciples of Christ, sons of God, be become more like Him and become purified. What great blessings we can have is we just learn to obtain this attribute. Maybe thats why its one of the hardest. As we truly begin to love our brothers and sisters, we have more patience, virtue, humility, and basically all of the attributes of Christ. As we develope this pure love of christ, we can see how our days are brighter and our burdens are lightened. I also studied the talk from Pte Monson called "Charity Never Faileth" and i invite you all to take a peek and see what you can do to have more chairty this week. 

I love you all and thanks for all of the prayers sent in my direction!

Con amor,

hermana gibson

Week 66- Gringos en Momos!

Hola Amigos guapos :)

What a great week it has been!

Tuesday we had leaders council with president. It was really great and we as a mission we are going to focus on how to find new investigators this month. We are trying to put our focus on families and we all set goals for this month of families to find. My comp and I were excited and prayed super hard and worked hard to find new families but this week we couldnt even find one new investigator which was a HUGE let down haha but we are thinking that this coming week we will see the blessings :) 

Wednesday we had a Zone Meeting and my comp and  I had to talk about how to increase our spirituality. Sometimes I get a little nervous to present because we are the only sisters in a zone of 22 elders and sometimes i feel like that wont take into consideration what we have to say. So as we spoke i had a prayer in my heart that the spirit would guide us and let me tell ya, prayer works! the spirit was so strong and afterwards the elders and president Smith thanks us for what we shared. It was such a beautiful experience. 

We had recieved references from a family and 2 were from their 9 year old son Kennetin. So thursday we went to contact them with kennetin and he was ready to go in his white chirst and ties. and we told us that he was super nervous, it was adorable. but seeing him share his testimony with his friends and invite them to church was so beautiful and a powerful experience for me to see how everyone can be a missionary! 

Saturday we took a 30 minute bus ride to a little town in our area to help come recent converts carry wood down to their house. It was super fun except for the fact that we couldnt find a bus to go back and the elders had found a "faster route" which led us up climb 2 HUGE hills. We were exhausted but it was so much fun to do service!

Sunday a bunch of gringos came here to our ward! Some dental program (i think its called smiles for central america) came to our ward sunday and it was really weird seeing so many white tall people in my ward. I think i perferred being the only gringa haha but it was a really beautiful experience they brought all kinds of clothes and toys and homemade crafts to give to the members. 

But the most beautiful part was when our 1s counsler of the bishopric shared his testimony (becasue it was fast sundayfor us) first she spoke in spanish but then he had practiced the night before and share a really powerful testimony in his broken english. tears filled my eyes to see how true this church is. it doesnt many where or what language, but despite the cultures, the gospel is the same and we all testify of the same truths. 

Lets all try to share our testimony with someone in need this week. I know someone is waiting to hear our personal testimonies. :)

1. Los Riscos 

2. Our wood carrying team!

Week 67- Happy Dia de los Muertos!

HOLA!

This week has been crazy! 

Tuesday we had changes. MY new comp is Hermana Arellano from Puebla Mexico. She´s super sweet and super Christlike and a really great example. I´m excited to be her companion.

This week we haven't been able to work much in our area because a few of the new sisters that we are in charge of are having problems with wanting to go home. So we have been traveling a lot to Xela to try to help them. Also one of the sisters who is also a north american told my that my english is funny and that it doesn't make that much sense haha so going home should be fun.... 

Also, Happy Halloween!So incase you were wondering, this halloween i dressed up as a spice girl disguised as a missionary.... yeah i fooled everyone :)

Sunday was Day of the Dead here and the Bishop and his family invited us to eat the traditional plate called Fiambre..... and the tradition with that plate is that give you a TON and you have to eat it ALL! I think it took me about 1 hour to eat it all but i did it haha and it was hard because people had just given us food before that! 

This weekend was Stake Conference and we were able to sing with in the ward choir. It was a really fun experience. 

This week I have studied a lot about faith because for a while I had felt as though I had been lacking a lot of it. Sometimes in the mission I just get tired of knocking so many doors or asking so many referrals and either not receiving them or being able to contact the references but the people arent interested in our message. Sometimes its just hurts because this message is the true! The true church has been restored and they are choosing not to be a part of it. It truly makes me sad. And the whole mission we have been trying to find families that are prepared to receive the gospel, and i though for the past couple of days that i just didnt have the faith that they were really out there. So today i did a lot of praying and studying and I came to realize that I DO have the faith to find these families. Thats why i keep working diligently, but what i lack is the patience to see the fruits of my efforts. I was studying in Alma 32 and read the last verse which leave us a promise- after we have done all that we can do, and we do it with patience, faith, diligence, and long suffering, we WILL see the fruits of our labors. What a beautiful blessing that it for us. may we all continue on in our labors to serve the Lord even when we feel dis- animated. 

I love you all

Hermana Gibson

1. Barrio Patzite´s chior

2. the elders in our area

3. Familia Acajabon Champet

4. Hermana Arellano y YO

5. FIAMBRE!!!

6. My BFF Melany, she painted my nails, we we had to take a pic 

7. Some of the sisters that we meet with 

Week 66- The last transfer

HOLA!

Well this week has been crazy eventful!

Tuesday we get a call that a tropical storm was going to hit our area so we needed to buy extra food that doesnt require cooking. Then the next day our fridge broke, so it was a good thing that we bought all of the food. The good news is that the storm never hit us, but we did experience another little problem.... all of Momos hast recieved water all week, and our house doesnt have a water reserve tank either..... We were able to see a few miracles tho, the water came back twice but only for an hour, which was enough to fill our small pila (where we wash our clothes) So we have been fortunate to sponge bathe this week. Rumor has it that the water will come back the 30th of this month, but lets just pray that it comes back sooner. And yes you can assume that the whole town reeks of non showered people... Oh but there are water trucks driving around town to deliver water to everyone. 

Thursaday we were going to have a mission conference with a 70 but that got cancelled too.... so that was a little bit of a bummer. But supposedly the 8th of november a general authority will be coming to speak just to our ward, so that will be cool!

Saturday the elders had a baptism and were able to marry the happy couple. That was such a beautiful event. and saturday night we found a family of 10 people that are really interested in our message :) But as far as the investigators go, we have seen many upsets but also many miracles, so that has been a huge blessing!

Also tomorrow are changes, ill be staying in my area but ill be getting a new comp becasue hermana percino has changes. im pretty bummed about that, but im sure my new comp will be great too. 

Well i love you all lots! Hope you have a fantastic week and dont forget to ponderize!

Con amor,

Hermana Gibson

1. Our investigators Leidi and Efrain

2. Familia Lang- One of my favorite families in the ward

3. With hermana lucia and paulina

4. me being a true guatemalteca

5. the couple that got baptized saturday

6. they´re fun sized :)

7. pretty flowers here

8. divisions with herman a rodas

Week 65- Washing in the River

Hey friends!

This week was both extremely hard and extremely rewarding. Last week we had a really successful week so we had put higher goals to push ourselves to work even harder. Well lets just say Tuesday through Friday, every single appointment that we had fell through, and our investigators with a baptismal date are no longer progressing. And there came a point Friday night where we just wanted to cry. And also it started to pour again this week, and that doesn't help the excitement when its freezing and raining and all of your plan  and plan B-s have fallen through. But we did it, kept enduring and then at 8:00pm Friday night the Lord had mercy on us.

Miracle #1 Familia Garcia Itzep. We received a call from a family of investigators that we were teaching but never completed with their appointments. But the father (the most hard hearted of them all) was actually the one who called us and and invited us over. So in a hop and a leap we were in their house reading with them the book of Mormon and we could see the spirit changing Fransisco´s heart.

Miracle #2 Monday night we had contacted a family in the street and put a return visit with them Saturday morning. And guess what, they were actually there waiting for us!! The husband got called into work at the last minute but we wants to meet with us too. 

Miracle #3 Right after leaving the appointment with the new family we found, we felt that we needed to contact a girl right next to the family, and she pulled out plastic stools, called her husband over and wanted us to teach them. And the spirit had guided us to teach them the plan of salvation. Which touched Leidi´s heart and she had opened up to us and and told us about her baby that had passed away 4 months ago, before being born. And as we testified about the temple, she told us about her sacred experience of entering the temple in Xela during its dedication. What a testimony it was to me to see the blessings of patience, diligent endurance.

This week was also some weird national Mayan holiday and its hecka witch-crafty up in here, people go do burning rituals to seek revenge of others or to be "healed"... yeah its weird. but gotta love Momos!

Also, you all should be proud of me, I not only can wash my own clothes by hand now, but i can also help others wash their own clothes, using a bar of soap, a flat stone and a river. :)

i love you all dearly! have a miracle filled week :)

con amor,

hermana gibson

Week 64- 16 months

Buenas Tardes!

What an amazing week this week has been!

Tuesday we had leaders council with president and the assistants. It was such a cool experience. They talked a lot about how the mission isn't completing with its goals and that instead of progressing, we are taking a few giant steps backwards. So we talked a lot about how to truly plan well and work with the members. And WOW let me tell ya as my comp and I have applied what we learned in the council and from Preach My Gospel, we have seen crazy success in our area. 

In fact there is a member fro our ward named Chepe. His wife isn't a member but has assisted over 10 times. We were finally able to have a lesson with her on Sunday and after sharing the message of the restoration, we asked what she needed to do to be baptized!!! So we will be having her baptismal service the 24 of October. :)

This week I applied what I had learned in Conference and pondered a scripture throughout the week. I chose, DC 88:67-68. As I had placed the scripture where I would always see it, I was able to really think about what it was saying. As we all keep out minds and hearts set of the glory of God, we will always be able to receive the personal revelations that we need to keep pressing forward. And then is invites us to purify ourselves so that the Holy Ghost can always be with us. This scripture has been of great help to me to make sure that my mind was only focused on the glory of God this week, and due to this simple act of ponderizing, I have been able to see many great blessings. I invite you all to do the same. 

Thank you all for your love and support. 

btw i was totally given pig intestines to eat.... yeah that was fun.

1. getting drenched from being outside in the rain for 5 min

2. part of my area... momos is so beautiful!

3.  dulce teaching us how to transform into dwarfs

4. this nasty dead snake..... you´re welcome :)

5. bean night as a ward activity

6. jeni came too! 

7. selfi porque nos toco bañar

8. another selfi, porque si

9. my compa :)

Week 63- happy conference!

First off, i hope you all had an AMAZING general conference weekend. I felt so blessed to know that our Heavenly Father continues to speak to us through living prophets. I had so many prayers answered and truly felt the love of our Savior,

This week went by crazy fast! And today i dont have much time to write, so its going to be a short email. 

Yesterday, we killed a spider, which was maybe the BIGGEST spider that i have seen in my whole life!!! Lets just say there was a lot of screaming in the house, but  put my big girl pants on and killed it..... but we also found two more this morning. Maybe ill become spiderwoman pretty soon.

Thursday we did divisions with the sisters from Baul. I stayed in my area and Hermana Calix came with me. It was a great experience, until the lights in all of momos went out at 6pm. So we had to go home and they didnt come back on until 9:20. 

Friday we had interviews with president, which are always great and uplifting. 

Many of you have been asking what i do as a sister leader..... well i have the same question. jk My comp and I are in charge of 2 companionships of sisters. Every so often we do companion exchanges and we train them and help them reach their full potential. Its a really amazing experience that I have, even though it can be overwhelming at times. But thats mainly the jist. Also i go to leaders council once a month. ( We are going tomorrow.)

I love you MUCHO! Have a great week!

Hermana Gibson

1. Hermana Calix and I

2. The spider....

3. My friend melanie

4. This guy (iffy) is from Nigeria! How sick is that!

Week 62- 103 and counting

Hola!

So before you think that 103 is a baggie (trunkie) thing, just know that its not. 103 would be the minimal number of flea bites that i have on my body this week. And i think i missed a few. I´ve officially decided that the fleas are my friends and NEVER want to leave me alone. 

Okay apart from that, this week was great! It was filled with so many fun activities. 

Wednesday we found a new investigator named Veronica. So basically knows nothing about who Jesus Christ is and as I was able to testify of our Savior, I felt the spirit so strongly and I knew that there were angels surrounding us in the lesson. It was such a powerful experience.

Thursday we had a ward activity. It was such a fun activity. It was a little "fair" and everyone was told to win the most money that they could and whoever won the most would win a cake. Everyone played and had a good time and then when the fair part was over. Everyone had to pay all of their money to enter into the final room and had to grab a rock. Well as Hermano Parley because to explain, he told us that the rock represented out sins of the world that we gained from our greed and selfishness. Then He told all of the throw the rock as hard as we could into a box. After everyone had passed, he reached into the box and pulled out a ripped and torn picture of Jesus Christ and explained how He took upon himself all of our sins and burdens. It was such a powerful lesson.

Friday we had a Multi Zone conference and President talked a lot about how we need to increase out spiritual level. The conference was SO strong. I love conferences so much! 

Then Saturday we watched the womens general broadcast and let me tell ya, i am STOKED for conference this weekend :) 

I love you all so much! and next week ill send pics. sorry i forgot my camera!

con amor, 

hermana gibson

Week 61- Welcome to Momos

Buenas Tardes amigos!

Well this week has been full of memorable events. 

Monday i said goodbye to my family from Nahuala and that was definitely hard, but I know that we will all see each other again!

Tuesday we had tp get up at 3 am to be in Xela for changes at 6... My new companion is Hermana Percino from Puebla, Mexico. She is absolutely adorable and we are getting along really well. I know that she is going to teach me a lot!

Friday we did divisions with the sisters from Bolivar (in Xela) I went with Hermana Martinez and it was pretty fun. The poor thing was super sick so I had to take care of her. but we had a great time and I feel so blessed that I have the opportunity to go on divisions with other sisters because they are all great examples.

Oh I almost forgot to tell you, I am now in Momostenango. My area is called Patzite and we share an area with elders. The area is HUGE!!!!!! Yesterday after church we went with the ward council to a tiny town in our area that was 45 minutes away in bus. But it was a really fun experience. It was great to be able to work hand in hand with the ward council and see them make visits to the less active members and find new investigators to teach!

Oh an my area in like a giant forest. So even though I was a bit bummed that I was leaving my tall corn stalks, I am in an area with something even taller..... trees :)

I love you all! hope you have a fantastic week and find new ways to feel of the eternal joy that this gospel brings :) 

1. the day of changes. Me with two of my kids and my first granddaughter :)

2. #selfie

3. me and my new comp hna Percino

4. happy because i finally got to eat lasagna!!!

Week 60- Jeba Nahuala!

Hola Hola Hola!

This week was another crazy fast week! On Tuesday we went to the temple! And it was the most beautiful experience! There is nothing better than being in the House of the Lord and the spirit that you feel there!

On Thursday we had a district meeting and we were all told to bring pictures of our families and we took turns presenting ourselves and showing our pictures. It was a great activity because we were able to get to know other on a more personal level.

Our investigator Brenda accepted a baptismal date for the 10 of October and we are so excited for her! During the lesson she pulled out a notebook that she had bought just for the lessons and started taking notes on what we were saying so that she would forget! It was so touching to see her pure desire to learn the truth.

Yesterday Antonio Balux, who will be getting baptized the 26 on this month showed up to church in his new white shirt and dress pants. Let me advise you that money is really scarce for him and he is working 2 laborious jobs to be able to provide for his family, but he worked extra so that he would be able to dress appropriately in church. It bring me so much joy to see how willing he is to follow our Savior and do his will, even if it means sacrificing work or food. 

Saturday people actually showed up to English class!!! that was awesome!

 Well Looks like today is my last day here in Nahuala. President called me last night and called me to be a sister training leader. So i'm super nervous but excited but also sad because i wont be able to finish Hermana Perez`s training. and I most likely wont be walking around in the cornfields anymore. But I'm eternally grateful for the experiences that i have had here in Nahuala and I will hold these people very closely to me heart. 

Until next week,

Hermana Gibson